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Introduction

The occupational hazards of round-robin tennis typically lead to during this phase of the ATP World Tour Finals fans frequently find themselves scratching our heads, hastily looking for a calculator and trying to work out the complex potential outcomes for advancement. However tonight’s match between Alexander Zverev and Auger-Aliassime, fortunately, is simple. It’s a straight shootout: the winner sets up a semi-final battle against Alcaraz at this season-ending event; the unsuccessful competitor heads out.

The German is the frontrunner for this: the elite athlete is the more accomplished player, has previously won at this tournament previously on two instances and leads their head-to-head 6-3, securing victories in both their past encounters on an covered hard surface.

Yet … this type of playing field on which Felix has secured most of his championships, he is full of confidence after his remarkable turnaround against Shelton on Wednesday and he took out the German in the US Championships third round in August. Additionally, the court pace is quicker in Turin than at Flushing Meadows, which provides an additional advantage in Auger-Aliassime's favor.

If Zverev holds back, as he did against the Italian, and Felix aggressively challenges the European player with his effective service game and bold strategy, it could well be the young Canadian – the earlier standout who was previously positioned before Alcaraz and Sinner to succeed the tennis icons – who earns the questionable privilege of competing with the world No 1 the next day.

Action commences: at approximately 8:30 PM in Turin, 19:30 Greenwich Mean Time.